Play on
Role Player
Senior takes diverse skill set from the hardwood to the stage, page 23
Thursday
Dec e m be r 2 , 2 0 1 0
Community School for Music and Arts celebrates 50 years in Ithaca, page 13
The Ithacan 1971 1981
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A new brand of
Bomber
2011
Photos courtesy of C. Hadley Smith and kevin gage, ithacan
file photo
Neighboring wetlands limit apartment growth Plans to complete the expansion of the Circle Apartments complex have been pushed to Summer 2012 because of the unexpected presence of wetlands. Originally scheduled to be completed August 2011 to accommodate the large sophomore class, the number of planned new occupancies has also been cut in half. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declared the land unsuitable for immediate expansion because of the presence of these wetlands. If these saturated areas of moisture are disturbed, wetlands of equal or greater size must be created in other locations on the college’s property. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website, the Army Corps monitors all activity regarding freshwater wetlands in order to protect them, as they provide many benefits such as flood and storm water control. Wetlands are identified under the Freshwater Wetlands Act as being an area of land 12.4 acres or larger with standing water. Carl Sgrecci, vice president of finance and administration, said the drainage soils put in place to prevent possible future flooding during the Circle Apartment expansion of
Rick Couture, associate vice president of the Office of Facilities, points out the location of the wetlands yesterday near the Circle Apartments. kelsey o’connor/the ithacan
2002 are what the Army Corps is declaring as wetlands. “Rather than having just holes in the ground, we planted some grasses to sustain a temporary flooding,” Sgrecci said. “When we came back to do the new expansion, the Army Corps declared what we had done as new wetlands.” Rick Couture, associate vice president of the office of facilities, said the college suspected the drainage soils became wetlands
while it was making plans for the expansion with an environmental specialist this year. “The Army Corps came out and inspected the area we had pointed out as question marks in our minds, and now we are working with them because they are preliminarily telling us, ‘Yes, those are wetlands,’” Couture said. “We’re seeing where we would propose to build new Circle Apartment buildings where they
by Taylor Long
Assistant News Editor
See provost, page 4
See mascot, page 4
staff writer
Rochon picks Marisa Kelly as provost
See apartments, page 4
assistant photo editor
From fighter pilots to roosters and papier–mâché masks to unicorn-like creatures, the Ithaca College mascot has never been clearly defined. But now the search is on for an official face of Bomber spirit to cheer and rally on the Blue and Gold’s sidelines. In 1937 students chose the name “Cayugas” to represent the college. There are many theories about where the name “Bombers” came from, but in 1940, according to the college archive website, the “Bombers” began to emerge in sports releases because Harold Jansen, a member of the publicity staff and sports writer for many newspapers, used the name so frequently in his
by thad komorowski
I t h a c a , N . Y.
Volum e 7 8 , I s s u e 1 3
wouldn’t impact wetlands.” In addition to the wetland issues, Sgrecci said the college is working with the New York State Department of Transportation, which is concerned the additional occupancy at the apartments will increase traffic on Route 96B. “We don’t know that this will happen yet, but they’re looking at whether or not we might have to put in a left-hand turn lane going into the apartments and whether or not there should be a traffic signal at the entrance,” Sgrecci said. “All of these things unfortunately take time to resolve, and you can’t start until they’re resolved.” Koenig said in spite of the expansion delays, the college still guarantees on-campus housing for the sophomore class, but it’s likely they will have difficulty getting their preferred choice of housing. “Everyone who is here on campus will have a space to live in next year,” Koenig said. “We guarantee housing for all four years and are required to for three. But it will be just as competitive as it has been in years past, possibly more so.” The expansion project’s original goal was to have the first half of the new occupancies, 140 beds, ready for August 2011 in order to
by kelsey o’Connor
Clockwise from top: a makeshift unicorn, The Bombadier and Bomber Man, all official and unofficial mascots of Ithaca College.
The Ithaca College mascot will unify students and bring school spirit, page 10
Marisa Kelly has been chosen as Ithaca College’s next provost and vice president for academic affairs, President Tom Rochon announced today. Kelly, currently the dean and McQuinn Distinguished Chair of the College of Arts and Sciences at KELLY will start the University her position as the college’s provost of St. Thomas in July 1. Minnesota, will officially begin her position at the college July 1. The decision comes at a time of transition as Rochon begins to implement IC20/20, the comprehensive 10-year strategic plan for the college’s future. Interim provost Gregory Woodward will continue to serve in his temporary position until July 1. He will resume his position as dean of the School of Music at that time. Abiodun Goke-Pariola, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, and Mary Strey, former provost and vice president for academic affairs at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., also interviewed for provost. Rochon said Kelly was selected because of her academic experience at a college similar to Ithaca, her ability to communicate well with many different audiences and her compatible vision of the college’s future. “I wanted a provost who was comfortable with that developing vision because I didn’t want the campus community to go back to square one next year and start over again,” he said. Rochon declined to comment on the other final candidates or the selection committee’s judgment of Strey and Goke-Pariola. Rochon, who had the opportunity to work with Kelly while serving as executive vice president and chief academic officer at St. Thomas between 2006 and 2008, said he was impressed by Kelly’s collaborative approach. “I thought that would fit in very well with the style of collaborative decision-making at [the college] and, in particular, the way she, as provost, would make decisions in collaboration with the deans,” he said. Rochon said working with Kelly in the past did not directly affect his decision, but his familiarity with St. Thomas allowed
Submissions sought to find mascot for Ithaca College
2000
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